Who Is Teyonah Parris? 5 Things to Know About ‘The Marvels’ Star

A new hero has arrived. Teyonah Parris plays Monica Rambeau in The Marvels, and there are a few things fans should know about the actress as she joins the superhero ranks.

"I’ve wanted to be in the MCU since the MCU debuted!" the South Carolina native told Titan Comics in January 2021. "That would be, like, Marvel Studios' Iron Man. I remember either being in college or just out of college and seeing the epicness of it all, and how fun it was and funny and still very grounded. I’m like, 'I want to be an MCU Super Hero!' Just to have entered the world and with such a dope creative team and cast, it’s really been a dream."

It's a dream she didn't expect to come true. Parris had seen fans on social media suggest her for several Marvel superhero roles, but she assumed nothing more would ever come of it.

"Oh, I knew Monica was a superhero before I even got the role because fans on Twitter had been fan-casting me as Monica Rambeau," she told Variety in 2021. "This is way pre-Captain Marvel. So I looked her up, just very casually, like, 'Oh, she’s pretty cool. She’ll never see the light of day. Moving on!' So that was really my introduction to her, maybe, like five or six years ago when fans started doing that. So when she showed up in Captain Marvel as a young girl, I was like, 'Oooh! OK!' But again, I didn’t expect that she would become a full grown woman and character in the MCU. So it was a pleasant surprise to learn that not only would I be able to tell this woman’s story, but that the world would be able to see another Black female superhero in the MCU."

Monica first appeared in 2019's Captain Marvel, which was set in 1995. Monica was the young daughter of Carol Danvers' (Brie Larson) best friend. Parris made her debut as Monica in 2021’s WandaVision. The Disney+ series showed the character in the present day, processing the death of her mother and investigating Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch's (Elizabeth Olsen) magical alternate reality. The experience left her with some superpowers that she still has to master.

"With Monica, we see her at the end of WandaVision gain powers," the actress told Deadline at D23 Expo in September 2022. "And so, in The Marvels, we pick up learning how Monica’s been learning about her powers, working with them – or if she has at all. Like, what she’s not been doing."

The Marvels, due in theaters on November 10, 2023, will show Monica joining forces with Carol and teen hero Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani). Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said they make quite a team.

"There's something immensely powerful about seeing Monica and Kamala and Carol together in a frame," Feige told Entertainment Weekly in February 2023. "To me, it's only akin to the first Avengers movie and seeing the six of them together in a frame. It's chill-inducing. They're so great together, and they all have different histories with another."

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